SCINTIGRAPHY IN TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH

Scintigraphy, widely used in detecting the pathological change in tissues and organs, is a non-invasive technique that utilizes radioisotopes and their movement in vivo are traced using gamma cameras, which develops high resolution images of the organ using specific software. The high quality images are helpful in deciding the treatment strategies. Often the scintigraphy images are correlated with other biochemical tests to conclude the extent of disease and alteration in morphology of organ. Another important application of the scintigraphy involves determining the in vivo pharmacokinetic profile of drugs, materials and implants that are tagged to radioisotopes. Chelating agents are employed to develop a chemical bond between the drug and radioisotope, which are referred to as radiopharmaceuticals. The retention time, release profile and movement of drugs are thus evaluated which fasten the development of new drug and implant materials. The success of this technique depends on the labeling parameters and nature of radioisotopes that travel through the body.